The Marshall County Commissioners passed a joint resolution with the County Council during their meeting last week that will send a message to the Indiana legislation concerning the Special Local Income Tax (LIT) used to pay the jail bond and operate the jail.
The Special LIT captures a quarter-of-a-percent on income from the county and those funds are used to pay the bond payments for the jail. A portion of the excess funds from the Special LIT have been used for operating cost of the Marshall County Correctional Facility for years.
The Commissioners and Council members are seeking approval from the legislation to allow the county to continue using Special LIT funds for operating expenses at the jail after payment of the bonds for the construction of the jail are over.
Bettye Bell talked to her son, Charoyd Bell, on the phone for just five minutes before he had to hang up.
During the Sept. 28 phone call she took from her home in Natchez, Bettye Bell learned from her son, who is currently incarcerated at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility (EMCF) in Lauderdale County, that the prison was on lockdown due to some people in his unit testing positive for COVID-19.
According to her son, a lockdown doesnât mean much.
âTheyâre not able to social distance that Iâm aware of. Theyâre all co-mingled, be they have (COVID-19) or not. So thatâs not safe,â Bettye Bell said. âI donât know that (EMCF officials) are doing anything extra in terms of providing medicines or whatever to help. I canât say that theyâre doing any of that. All I can tell you is as a mom, itâs very stressful.â